Maui Dive Shops/Snorkel Charters

[Hoffa]

The family is headed to Maui in late June. We will be staying in the Kapalua area. My wife and I have been diving (too irregularly) for 20 years. Our two teenage girls are not certified, but have become able snorkelers thanks to two or three Caribbean trips in the past. Last summer we were able to charter a catamaran in the BVI, and it turns out that we spent most of the trip snorkeling. It's not diving, but for snorkeling, it's hard to beat being the only boat in a particular cove of one of the British Virgin Islands, so we've become a bit spoiled as snorkelers.

I don't know if my wife and I are going to dive, but if we do, are there recommendations for a particular dive operation? Is there a particular area that has the best diving? Are we going to be a little disappointed after diving in Little Cayman, Belize, Bonaire, etc., or is Maui different in a good way?

Maybe more importantly, I did a little web surfing for snorkel charters, and everything I found was geared to large numbers. Is anybody aware of any Maui charters that would be able to take a much smaller number out for a day of really good snorkeling? We would be willing to pay the price for it.

Many thanks.

 

[GAFUN]

Top 10 Snorkeling Spots in Maui

Most of these are shore entry and great sites. You will not be disappointed, lots of fish diversity and turtles.

Many good dive shops, B&B is our favorite. Molokini and the Cathedrals in Lahaina are great dives.

We were in Little Cayman a couple months ago and going to Maui in October.... I cant wait

 

[diversteve]

As seen in the link above, Kapalua Bay is a really good snorkel - also one of the nicest beaches on Maui. Decent shallow dive also. Napili is just around the south point from there. I found the best stuff out there once snorkeling in really shallow water in among the rocks. Most of the beaches in that area end in rocky outcroppings on either end so enter off the beach nearby and swim out. I don't know/use established snorkel operators since I dive mostly.

The dive operators with boats are all in Lahaina or farther south. Lahaina Divers, Extended Horizons, Hawaaiian Rafting Adventures and there's one more in Lahaina Harbor with their own smaller boat. Except for Lahaina Divers all will go only to Lana'i for diving due to the distance to Molokini or do 2nd dives along the Maui coast. If you happen to see references here to Kapalua Divers - they closed last year. :depressed: Any of the other Lahaina "boat" dive operators will book you on someone else's boat. Except Maui Dive Shops, they have their own in Ma'alea but feed divers to it from all their shops.

Maui is different from where you've been since there's almost no soft fans/corals. And you have to slow down. Hawaii has one of the highest endemic (only found there) fish populations in the world but you have to look a little harder to find them. I watch for movement on the reef as I go by and often spot things like frogfish, octos, etc. that way. If you get out in the debris field off Old Airport Beach, there's octos there even during the daytime - look in the ends of the tubes. Probably snorkel depth, I don't recall but no shore dive off Maui is very deep until you get pretty far out.

I've been to Bonaire and the BVI's. For sheer numbers of fish, Lana'i's west coast wins hands down. We once dove with an estimated 4-5000 Tangs, Butterflies and Moorish Idols off Shark Fin. And it's not considered the "fishiest" site. Plus you're going to see a lot more reef sharks there than in the Caribbean - Bahamas being an exception.

What's often suggested is to hire a guide the first time and do what they do. You can find shore dive guides in the area also, Scuba Mike, Tiny Bubbles, there's others. Black Rock is almost a better snorkel than dive. Lots of Sheraton guests will think so also daily. In2Scuba is on-site there. If you do want to drive down towards Kihei, there's Shaka Divers, Maui Dreams Dive Co. and about 1/2 dozen others.

I often recommend B&B, Mike Severns or Ed Robinson's for boat dives to Molokini. But plan on almost an hour drive from Kapalua to Kihei to dive out at Molokini - with traffic it's farther than it looks. And at 5-6AM there's traffic - locals going to work at the resorts along Ka'anapali/Kahana.

And there's tradewinds in the afternoon so most of the boats leave at/before 6AM since they're ramp-launched daily.

Maui Diamond II does private snorkel charters out of Ma'alea. It's $1200-1500. Maui Diamond Sea Sports - Private Charters Ma'alea is the harbor before you get to Kihei. The big snorkel cats like the Pride of Maui go out of there. Trilogy is another option - Sail Trilogy - Tour Listing

In case you golf, the Bay course at Kapalua is epic. The Plantation is excellent also.

 

[DiveMaven]

Hawaii is VERY different than the Caribbean in all respects. Hawaii is literally in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and VERY isolated from any major continent or land mass. It is subjected to constant current, thus there is nothing big and soft that juts away from the hard, volcanic base. That means no gorgonian corals, sea fans, sponges, etc. Corals are hard and close to the surface they sit on, and sponges cling tightly and closely to their surfaces as well.

I use the comparison that if the Caribbean is a tropical rain forest underwater, Hawaii is the desert. Don't get me wrong, saying Hawaii is the desert doesn't mean there is nothing to see, it just means you have to know where to look and what to look for. Hawaiian waters are FULL of life...amazing life at that, and many endemic creatures you can never see anywhere else in the world, you just have to either know what you're looking for (at) or have a guide who can point it out to you.

Other than walking into the water and snorkeling at all the great sites on Maui, you might consider doing the Discover Lanai trip with Trilogy. They depart out of Lahaina Harbor and motor over to Lanai, where a short walk gets you to Hulopo'e Marine Preserve which has a gorgeous beach and excellent snorkeling. They even offer snuba, and their snuba isn't just for 10 minutes, they take you on a long tour around the preserve. The beach has all the amenities; fresh water showers, shaded areas, picnic tables, restrooms, and all the snorkeling equipment. After time at the beach, Trilogy feeds you a good meal and you go back to the boat for dessert and a fabulous SAIL back to Maui. I think this is an excellent trip and recommend it highly. Just don't waste your time on the Lanai City tour part...go straight to the beach instead.

There are a few dive operators on the island who take snorkelers and divers, but you have to always remember that the best dive sites are usually not the best snorkel sites, and vice versa.

If money is no object, call the dive companies and ask what it would cost to charter an entire boat for the morning. I'd recommend morning since the trade winds can come up and make the water very rough and uncomfortable.

My recommendation for guided snorkeling from the beach on Maui: Maui Snorkel Tours: The Ultimate Snorkeling Experience on Maui They're excellent at showing you the good sites and explaining all of the marine life that you see.

 

[Hoffa]

Good info. Thanks to all for the help.

 

[muddiver]

If you decide to go on one of the snorkel boats, Trilogy is the best that I have been on. Their boats are actually catamarans and they sail one leg of the trip. Some people will say its dumb, but I like the trip to Olowalu. Its 25 to 28 feet deep, lots of Laval outcrop around a sand bottom and it always seems amazingly clear. Guaranteed there will be at least one turtle there.

You want to boat dive (scuba) I highly recommend Mike Severn's boat. B&B and Mike Robinson's are also really good small boats like Mike's. I think they max at 12 divers on each boat. Lahaina divers is convenient, bit it is a cattle boat.

You can snorkel anywhere. I even shore dive daily off Ka'anapali beach every time I'm there. One really doesn't need to pay for a boat ride on Maui.